Mota Freitas (Carlos Elói)

Carlos Elói Mota Freitas was born in this city on December 1, 1894, and completed his studies at the Naval School in 1917. As a navy aspirant, he was part of the crew of the minesweeper Augusto Castilho, which was escorting the steamship São Miguel on a voyage from Madeira to the Azores when the minesweeper was treacherously attacked and sunk by a German submarine on October 14, 1918. Among others, the brave commander and our compatriot Mota Freitas died in the attack. The heroic resistance of the Augusto de Castilho protected the Portuguese steamship São Miguel from the German submarine, saving the ship and all its crew and passengers. A survivor of the submarine attack was our compatriot Samuel da Conceição Vieira, then a navy aspirant. The government awarded Aspirant Mota and Freitas the 1st class War Cross, and the Municipal Council of Funchal, in a session on May 8, 1919, decided to name the old Sacristia alley in Santa Maria Maior after the same aspirant. In October 1921, a committee was formed to erect a modest monument to Aspirant Mota and Freitas, and on that occasion, the War Cross insignia awarded to the same aspirant after his death was exhibited at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia.